26 replies to this topic

[Deerslyr]

Ok, my next project is a Stir Plate. I've got wood at home that I can make a base out of. Went to Radio Shack and picked up a Rheostat, Control Know, Button Switch and a case fan... Now I need to find an old hard drive to get a rare earth magnet. I'm regretting having ditched a computer a few months back to harvest the fan and hard drive. I might have another hard drive laying around.Apart from that, I'm sure I've got a cell phone charger laying around. Oh, and I need to pick up a stir bar. Otherwise, any advice? Pictures of the guts of your own Stir Plates?

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

I made a couple stir plates out of cigar boxes and scarfed parts here and there to make them work.. took me a couple trys to get the wiring right for the potentiometer ect.... burnt out some trasformers ect.... finally got it right, kind of a fun project...to space the magnet/fan assy correctly underneath the cigar box cover, I made some stand offs with threaded holes in each end and mounted them to the fan and box. Sorry don't have time to get you a pic....

[Deerslyr]

So I'm getting ready to build a housing for a stir plate and my son is going to hang out in the garage and help. He says to me, "you know what the key to easy building is?" I say "No, what?" He says "Dump the Legos on the floor". I paused for a moment and actually considered makeing a stir plate out of Lego's. It can be done, right????

[Big Nake]

A lot of talk about this lately. I just saw THIS on our local board this morning.

[Big Nake]

FWIW, I just ordered a stir plate from Dan Jeska last week. I actually ordered 2 (one for me and one for another local brewer) so it was $37.50 each. I think a single is $42, 2 for 37.50 each, 3 for $33 each. I also ordered extra stir bars just in case. I'm not handy enough to make my own.

[ChefLamont]

Mine looks totally ghetto, but I made mine using an upside-down rubbermade container. That way it is plastic and easy to clean. Also, if you notice, the plastic container has that ridge around the bottom. That way if there is a little spillage, it stays contained. I made mine a double so I could do two starters at once. Other than that, it is basically the same as others with fans, magnets, and the like.Pics:The guts (fans):

[MakeMeHoppy]

FWIW, I just ordered a stir plate from Dan Jeska last week. I actually ordered 2 (one for me and one for another local brewer) so it was $37.50 each. I think a single is $42, 2 for 37.50 each, 3 for $33 each. I also ordered extra stir bars just in case. I'm not handy enough to make my own.

I was going to recommend the same. By the time I ordered stir bars and paid S+H and then looked at the rest of the build (I had access to a harddrive magnet) I thought for a few bucks more I'd get one already done. It works well and like you said get some extra stir bars just in case.

[Deerslyr]

How many magnets are in the hard drive???I took it apart yesterday and took what I thought was the magnet... was certainly strong enough. but when I was looking for additional information on part of the build that I have yet to do, it almost looks as though I did not get the right magnet out... yet.

[MakeMeHoppy]

How many magnets are in the hard drive???I took it apart yesterday and took what I thought was the magnet... was certainly strong enough. but when I was looking for additional information on part of the build that I have yet to do, it almost looks as though I did not get the right magnet out... yet.

The one I got is an arc shaped magnet that is within a shield. It was very hard to pry the magnet from the shield. I'm still working and don't have time to find the instructions I used over a year about to take the hard drive apart.

[MakeMeHoppy]

My linkThis has a good pic of what the hard drive magnet looks like. I found I couldn't just put the naked magnet on top of the fan because I could not get the fan to run. The magnet was interfering with the magnetic flow in the fan motor. I used the shield it was in within the hard drive and I could get it to spin well. The next problem I had was getting the magnet balanced on the fan and about there I gave up and bought one.

[Deerslyr]

My linkThis has a good pic of what the hard drive magnet looks like. I found I couldn't just put the naked magnet on top of the fan because I could not get the fan to run. The magnet was interfering with the magnetic flow in the fan motor. I used the shield it was in within the hard drive and I could get it to spin well. The next problem I had was getting the magnet balanced on the fan and about there I gave up and bought one.

Yeah, I pulled the curved one off and while it came off pretty easy, it still seemed strong. Then I was reading this morning that made it sound like there were two in there. I'll have to investigate further when I get home tonight.

[djinkc]

Yeah, I pulled the curved one off and while it came off pretty easy, it still seemed strong. Then I was reading this morning that made it sound like there were two in there. I'll have to investigate further when I get home tonight.

I think some have two. Most of the drives I tore apart were old and I think they only had one.

[Deerslyr]

I think some have two. Most of the drives I tore apart were old and I think they only had one.

I got home tonight and confirmed that it only had the one. Hope it is strong enough.

[HarvInSTL]

FWIW, I just ordered a stir plate from Dan Jeska last week. I actually ordered 2 (one for me and one for another local brewer) so it was $37.50 each. I think a single is $42, 2 for 37.50 each, 3 for $33 each. I also ordered extra stir bars just in case. I'm not handy enough to make my own.

Dan is a great guy to deal with. I did a group order with some local brewers earlier this year and got the 3 for $100 deal. He was willing to make large ones for us but we determined that the size of the box used would be fine for our needs. Hell he even gives you instructions to build your own, when was the last time you saw a vendor do that?Highly recommended in my book!

Edited by HarvInCoMo, 08 September 2010 - 01:39 AM.

[Big Nake]

Dan is a great guy to deal with. I did a group order with some local brewers earlier this year and got the 3 for $100 deal. He was willing to make large ones for us but we determined that the size of the box used would be fine for our needs. Hell he even gives you instructions to build your own, when was the last time you saw a vendor do that?Highly recommended in my book!

Yeah, his price is good and the shipping was stupid fast. I got mine yesterday and took it for a spin with some water in my 1000ml flask. Very nice and smooth operation. I'm going to make a starter this morning and see if this thing will help me revive some elderly 2206 Bavarian lager yeast! For those who prefer to buy instead of fabricate... Dan's product is simple & well-constructed. Cheers.

[jimdkc]

As an old electronics guy, I die inside a little every time I see somebody build a stir plate using a rheostat or pot as the speed control. I know... I know... they usually work... It's just bad brute force design that will probably burn out at the worst possible time! A power supply with a variable voltage is much better. JimEdit: I like Dan Jeska's design a lot. It deals with 2 shortcomings of most home-built units: 1. Isolating the magnets from the fan with a PVC spacer.. and 2. A variable power supply driving the fan.

Edited by jimdkc, 08 September 2010 - 08:11 AM.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

I got a cool Acid cigar box, switch, rheostat and magnets. I can't wait to get home and tear apart my old computer.

[zymot]

As an old electronics guy, I die inside a little every time I see somebody build a stir plate using a rheostat or pot as the speed control. I know... I know... they usually work... It's just bad brute force design that will probably burn out at the worst possible time! A power supply with a variable voltage is much better. JimEdit: I like Dan Jeska's design a lot. It deals with 2 shortcomings of most home-built units: 1. Isolating the magnets from the fan with a PVC spacer.. and 2. A variable power supply driving the fan.

+1I understand using magnets salvaged from an old hard drive. Very much in the homebrewer spirit.But hard drive magnets are irregular shapes with irregular magnetic patterns. I do not have the patience required for a hit and miss design. I went with disc shaped neodymium magnets. I can glue them into place with symmetrical north/south pole orientation. Yes, I had to pay money for them.As for the speed control, I went with the a variable voltage regulator design. I knew it will work, the first time. It is a design for the intended purpose and should continue to work. My Easy Design

[TheOtherNate]

Yeah, his price is good and the shipping was stupid fast. I got mine yesterday and took it for a spin with some water in my 1000ml flask. Very nice and smooth operation. I'm going to make a starter this morning and see if this thing will help me revive some elderly 2206 Bavarian lager yeast! For those who prefer to buy instead of fabricate... Dan's product is simple & well-constructed. Cheers.

I just got mine tonight (3 day wait... I didn't think the USPS could do it).I'm gonna have to go over to his inter-tubes and pour on the praise... it's quiet and cool and I can hear the yeast screaming for joy in their new little yeast amusement park. (Ok, maybe that's the magnet I hear.)Dan, if you're watching... great job and excellent price! Perfect for home brewers.Tres Smooove!Nate

[zymot]

A good thing about getting a "Wizard of Oz" vortex. If you can crank the stir plate to the point the vortex reaches the stir bar, it does a great job of aerating the wort.I have a bottle of O2 and a tube that I stick down into the vortex. Turn on the O2, crank plate up and once the vortex gets down to the stir bar, it is starts to stir all kinds of O2. When you turn off the plate you see all the fine bubbles dissolved in the wort.After you do that, and the yeast is pitched into your wort, all you need is a modest vortex. IMHOAs far as stirbars are concerned, my observation is thicker is better than longer. A fat 1" stirbar is better than a 1.5"-2.0" skinny stirbar. And a stirplate designed for a fat 1" stirbar is easier to build.Warning, if you are going to do dynamic testing (i.e. put some water in your flask and watch it spin) realize there is a difference between water and wort. The extra viscosity of wort is more of a load than plain water. If you want to do a final test, make sure you use wort.